3.73 vs 4.10

Hey guys. I got a 85 f150 has the three speed manual and a mild 302 and 3.35 gears which leave a lot to be desired for towing and playing on the street i finally talked the wife into a re gear it mainly sees city driving with highway every once and a while and will be getting a 5 speed at some point so I'm wondering what would be the best gear for the truck I'm not to worried about mileage

It pretty well comes down to the tire size your running. I suspect its only 2 wheel drive. So i assuming no big mud tires. Personally i would prefer a 3.73. A 3.55 is a good ratio for freeways and moderate driving. A 4.11 is excellent for towing and a drag car thats cracking 8000 rpm. But not so much for driving down a free way at 70 or draging a heavy trailer. 3.73 is a good all around ratio. Plenty for low end torque and still will cruse down the highway with out over cranking the engine.

Before you gear the axle, you need to figure out which 5 speed you will use, because the final drive ratio of the transmission is what will effect your gearing also. You may just find a 5 speed with a final drive that will get you exactly what you want with the gears you have, hard to say.